A consolidation of the State Advances Corporation Act will be
introduced for your consideration. During the past year the Corporation's loans to applicants with freehold sections have increased considerably and my Government's policy of lending for the purchase of existing houses has had ready acceptance. Over the country as a whole there has been a substantial increase in permits for the building of houses and flats.

In the field of education my Government has accepted the view of the teachers' organisations that top priority should be accorded to the programme for the three-year training of teachers. This complex and costly operation, which will be introduced progressively over five years, will begin in 1966 in the Hamilton and Dunedin Teachers' Colleges. My Advisers are also considering whether the Education Act should be amended to revise the present system of administering education up to and including the secondary level. They anticipate that in higher education, in the universities and technical institutes, as well as in the teachers' colleges, the year ahead will be marked by an intensification of the current expansion and development.

A Bill will be introduced to consolidate and substantially amend the Mental Health Act. The new measure will reflect the considerable recent developments in knowledge and therapy that have occurred in this field.

The control over the supply and distribution of narcotics will be clarified and strengthened under the provisions of a Narcotics Bill which is designed to assist in the struggle to ward off a menace that now threatens this country.

You will be asked to approve the changes in the present law that are needed to legalise the publication of Sunday newspapers. My Ministers are also considering legislation to ensure that the effective control of mass media of information will be retained in New Zealand hands.

An amendment to the Forests Act will provide for the establishment of forest parks. These will be complementary to the existing national parks and public recreation will be encouraged in them, but not to the exclusion of other forest uses such as soil and water conservation and timber production.

My Ministers propose to amend the Broadcasting Corporation Act to increase the size of the Corporation, at present limited to three members. There will also be a Bill to amend the Medical Research Council Act and another measure is in preparation to reconstitute, at its own request, the Royal Society of New Zealand in the light of current developments in scientific endeavour.

My Advisers have given close consideration to the best way of avoiding the practice of contractual discrimination on the ground of race, colour, or creed and have decided to introduce an amendment to the Property Law Act for this purpose.

You will be asked to consider legislation consolidating and amending the Licensing Trusts Act and an Extradition Bill to replace the present law governing the surrender of offenders to foreign countries.

Among other measures to be presented for your consideration will be a Government Service Tribunal Bill to restate the functions of the Tribunal following the enactment of the State Services Act; a Building Societies Bill; a consolidation of the Customs Act; an amendment to the Decimal Currency Act to make transitional provisions during the changeover period; an amendment to the Machinery Act providing for the approval of safety frames for tractors used in agricultural operations; a revision of the Servants' Registry Offices Act; and amendments to the Civil Defence Act and the Rating Act.

All these matters I commend to your careful consideration and I pray that Divine guidance will attend your deliberations.